


The Strange Connection

by waterbird13



Series: Tumblr Fics [73]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Female Friendship, Friendship, Gen, Lunch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-23
Updated: 2016-07-23
Packaged: 2018-07-26 06:45:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7564258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waterbird13/pseuds/waterbird13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pepper never expected to like Natasha. She certainly never expected her thank-you brunch to turn into a once-a-month thing that lasts years and spawns a great friendship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Strange Connection

**Author's Note:**

> Another fill I'm moving from Tumblr.
> 
> It's really just about them getting food and Pepper realizing how much this has come to mean to her, even though she's never expected it. Set sometime between Iron Man 3 and Winter Soldier. I don't think any warnings apply.

Pepper never expects to like Natasha.

For one thing, Natasha is a spy. A spy who entered Stark Industries, no else, and Pepper has a long and storied history of absolutely destroying corporate spies.

Of course, Natasha wasn’t at SI to steal designs and sell them to the highest bidder. She had been there to spy on Tony, though, to report on him to SHIELD, and that makes Pepper very, very uncomfortable.

Still, the fact remains that the day couldn’t have been saved without her. She was on their side, however twisted that might get in the acts of a spy.

The first brunch is a peace offering, a thank you. To tell the truth, Pepper never expects Natasha to pick up the phone, but she does, on the third ring.

“Hello?”

Pepper swallows down the foreboding, and invites her to brunch. And, to her surprise, Natasha accepts.

It only happens around once a month. Two years later, though, it’s still going on. An alien invasion, death of mutual friends, the loose formation of a team, and the worst Christmas of her life have all come and past. She still gets brunch with Natasha.

“And then,” she says, smiling and setting her mimosa glass down, “and then he sets the soldering iron down.”

“No,” Natasha winces, picking at her plate. “On the dress?”

“On the dress,” Pepper confirms. It had been infuriating at the time, a multi-hundred dollar dress ruined by Tony’s carelessness. With Natasha, she feels like she can laugh at it a bit.

Natasha shakes her head. “Typical,” she says. “Listen to this though. Steve. He jumped out of a plane. Without a parachute.”

Pepper’s eyes go impossibly wide. “Is he okay?”

Natasha waves her away. “He’s fine,” she says. “Guy’s indestructible practically.” Pepper sometimes forgets, that her life has gotten so very strange. “He did it to get away from me. One talk about setting a guy up, and, boom, he jumps out at ten thousand feet without a chute.”

Pepper chuckles a little nervously at that one. A waiter comes around, discretely depositing the check on the table. Pepper grabs for it. Natasha, as always, beats her to it, spy reactions giving her the edge.

“My turn,” Pepper says firmly.

“Are you sure?”

“You know very well I let you get last month,” Pepper scolds. “Hand it over.”

Natasha’s mouth curls into a smile. “Tell you what. Let me pay, and I’ll let you take me shoe shopping.”

Pepper’s really supposed to be at the office in an hour. Under her tenure as CEO, the company has gotten used to punctuality and expectations.

“I’m sure the office can manage without me for a few more hours,” she says, handing the check over.


End file.
